Everything looked good for the Oklahoma Sooners after the first 20 minutes of play. Oklahoma led Oklahoma State in Stillwater by six at the break. And that’s where the good times ended.
The two sides traded three-pointers to start the second half. Then the Cowboys went on a tear, outscoring the Sooners by 22 points in the second half to come up with a big 72-56 win.
Grant Sherfield, who had 15 points in the first half, was held scoreless in the second on 0 for 6 shooting. Milos Uzan, who’d been on a role of late, was held under double figures for the first time in four games. He took just two second-half attempts, going 1 of 2 after the break and finishing with just eight points. Jacob Groves was the only other Sooner in double figures with 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting.
As a team, the Sooners shot just 41.7% from the field and 26.7% from three. It was behind the arch that was the difference in the ball game. The Oklahoma State Cowboys shot 41.2% from three.
Oklahoma’s offense couldn’t keep their same level of efficiency and then had few answers at the other end of the court for a Cowboys offense that poured in 48 second-half points.
With every game a gauntlet in the Big 12, dropping one to your in-state rival that was just a tick over .500 on the season hurts your NCAA tournament resume. After their opening-season loss to Sam Houston, the Sooners had little margin for error.
The Sooners now prepare for a tough stretch of games featuring ranked opponents. They’ll host No. 21 Baylor on Saturday before traveling south to Fort Worth to take on No. 14 TCU. Then they host the No. 4 team in the nation, the Alabama Crimson Tide. A couple of wins in that stretch could right a lot of what went wrong on Wednesday evening in Stillwater, but that will be a tough task for the Oklahoma Sooners.
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